The A/C System Cleaning and restoration industry has become a very lucrative bait and switch industry that many Carpet cleaning companies, Maid services, as well as plumbing or handyman service companies are adding on to there services. These add-ons are not fully certified, trained or even have any experience in the HVAC industry. These companies are the reason prices and quality of work are all over the place. If you are looking to make a smart decision for your home a professional Duct Cleaning service will protect you for 5-7 years. This info comes from NADCA (National Air Duct Cleaning Association) which is the closest thing to a license we have for duct cleaning. They have a great site that explains this process and pricing much more in depth and factual than what has been written here. This organization is working very hard to get these bad companies exposed and out of this industry. So in saying that do your research! Green Duct Decontamination is a certified company with certified technicians that take this work very seriously. We can not have these low rated unprofessional companies paste a bad name for an entire industry. Stay away from anything under 250$ for a full duct clean this is not feasible, go look at NADCA.com and you will understand why and what these companies are doing to rob you of your dollar.
Ground source, or geothermal, heat pumps are similar to ordinary heat pumps, but instead of transferring heat to or from outside air, they rely on the stable, even temperature of the earth to provide heating and air conditioning. Many regions experience seasonal temperature extremes, which would require large-capacity heating and cooling equipment to heat or cool buildings. For example, a conventional heat pump system used to heat a building in Montana's −70 °F (−57 °C) low temperature or cool a building in the highest temperature ever recorded in the US—134 °F (57 °C) in Death Valley, California, in 1913 would require a large amount of energy due to the extreme difference between inside and outside air temperatures. A few feet below the earth's surface, however, the ground remains at a relatively constant temperature. Utilizing this large source of relatively moderate temperature earth, a heating or cooling system's capacity can often be significantly reduced. Although ground temperatures vary according to latitude, at 6 feet (1.8 m) underground, temperatures generally only range from 45 to 75 °F (7 to 24 °C).
Installation: The old furnace is disconnected from the ductwork plenum, exhaust flue, gas and electrical hookups. In most cases, a new plenum must be made onsite or ordered from a local sheet metal fabricator. A new vent might be required too. The furnace is set and reconnected. Adjustments to the blower fan speed and burner are made to optimize furnace performance for your home and climate.
Is there a such thing as a PQ-15 valve? No…but how do we know? And oh, by the way, there are only two types of line-sets: 3/4 inch, and 7/8 inch. All modern equipment runs on a 7/8 inch line-set, so the only time they’ll have to change something is if you have antiquated 3/4 inch line-set from the 60’s or 70’s. I’m digressing though…the point is that they can easily prey on uninformed consumers…like you, baby bird! Don’t worry though…you’ll be flying by the end of this article.
I know it has to have a new concentric venting system installed, I believe it needs new plenums ( mine are rusty but both of these require extra work , so someHVAC persons are saying I do not need either!! RED FLAG THERE. Also, it will need a new drain using PVCP ?? Piping run maybe two, depending on where my evep coil drain is conected (here in TN they use to run them in with the septic lines, now they cannot be run through that way), Lastly I am not where or what these things do beides hold water but I was told It needs a filter rack and new filter base safety pan. THATSSS it that is all I know about this stuff aside from the fact that nothing up there is to code thus far LOL. !!
My Carrier furnace occasionally (one-two times a day) does not start. It shows error code 15 ("BLOWER MOTOR LOCKOUT -This status code indicates the blower failed to reach 250 RPM or the blower failed to communicate to the variable speed furnace control within 30 seconds after being turned ON in two successive heating cycles."). However, when I turn off and on the furnace power switch it starts and runs fine for a while. Sometimes it runs fine all day, but does not start only once in the evening or in the night. It is 13 years old I was thinking to replace whole thing if repair cost is too high. But I am not ready to pay $10,000.

I believe a $3 [sic] pleated cotton filter is all that is ever needed to keep a system running top notch. A cleaning of the blower squirrel cage and of the evaporator [indoor] coil may be needed one time if fiberglass or no filters have been previously used. The return air grille [or grilles] need vacuumed off occasionally, as they are upstream from the filter. The $3 filter should be changed every 3 months [rule of thumb]....and most of them have a little white square on the cardboard frame to write install date.....and the arrow should point into the duct [if at filter grille]....or towards the furnace [if in ductwork slot]...or towards the blower [if in blower compartment]. My two cents.....

My best advice has always been that a proper duct cleaning is a valuable investment when moving into a home (new or old), after major renovations and if the ducts have never been cleaned before. It is unlikely that there will be increased air flow, as finding major blockage is unusual, but this will eliminate this as a possible concern if there are air flow concerns. It is also true that the "dust" that is cleared out will most likely never have been distributed through the house unless there has been some work done on the ducts. What is cleared out will be pet hair, toys, clothes, construction material, and biological material (small carcasses and/or feces). Once a proper cleaning is done a follow-up is rarely necessary, but up to the home owners discression.
Installation: Replacement is quite easy, especially when an old refrigerant line set can be used. If the set is worn, it’s much better to pay the extra $400-$600 to replace it rather than risking it leaking later. When your AC loses refrigerant, you lose your cool air and the compressor is at risk of failing. A new installation means installing a coil in your furnace or air handler, running the line set between it and the coil in the condensing unit and adding refrigerant, if needed. Most ACs come pre-charged for 20-30 feet of line. If the line set is longer, a small amount of refrigerant is added.
Just had my HVAC System restored and working again on a Sunday and before the 104 weather tomorrow!!!! Called Big Mountain Heating and Air and spoke to very helpful woman named Martina. She connected me to a Technician named Josh. He was at my home within a few minutes and tackled my Honey Well system's issues. He is both skilled, personable and better yet, he got my system up and going and safe. He installed a surge suppressor on the system to prevent power surges that can kick off any system, when the electric company has to reduce power, etc. I will be using Big Mountain in the future. Truly grateful for such good service and people. Thank you! I recommend this firm to everyone!
The next step was cleaning the cold air returns. He found a good spot to drill an 8” hole for his vacuum hose. The procedure matched the other air ducts except that when he finished at the two cold return registers he drilled several holes in the cold ducts in the basement and blasted air into them. Because of our houses age and the upgraded return system, I noticed that the main sheet metal return duct had no top but was just butted up against the ceiling in the basement. When he blasted air in, dust and crap shot out the edges along the ceiling. Once he finished that he removed the filter and “swept” out anything at the bottom of the return with his hand into the 8” hose.
I replaced all the ducts but the trunks in my 1969 home when I replaced the horizontal furnace under the house with a gas pack. I got advice from a friend who was an HVAC contractor. I was surprised to find the trunks and other ducts very clean. I replaced the individual runs with flex primarily for the insulation. I wrapped the trunks with insulation also.
Some Service Professionals are employees, franchisees, dealers, or independent contractors ("Corporate SP's") of larger national or corporate accounts ("Corporate Accounts"). In such event, you may be matched with the Corporate Account entity or with one of their Corporate SP's. The above screening criteria is not applicable to Corporate Accounts, and therefore, HomeAdvisor does not screen the Corporate Accounts or Corporate SP's.
Multiple inventions within this time frame preceded the beginnings of first comfort air conditioning system, which was designed in 1902 by Alfred Wolff (Cooper, 2003) for the New York Stock Exchange, while Willis Carrier equipped the Sacketts-Wilhems Printing Company with the process AC unit the same year. Coyne College was the first school to offer HVAC training in 1899.[12]
in response to this reply " should your ducts be cleaned", i have to politely correct the person who answered this. you are not using common sense. first, most of the country uses metal duct work, so for you to say what you did, is wrong. second, the duct system in a house is a circulatory system. that means it draws air into the furnace, it gets filtered, and then it is blown out into the house to heat or cool. So, obviously that air is being brought into the house from somewhere right? Yes, its coming from the outside where there are many allergens and dust particles . For you to says that about whether a duct system is sealed or not, makes no difference. The air is coming from somewhere right? It has to originate from somewhere right? Just look on top of your cieling fan. If there is a bunch of dust up there, then there is obviously a bunch in your ducts. And the duct air is being circulated every day, and every hour through your house. Its simple, dust collects everywhere in your house. Imagine if you never dusted your shelves, or tv? There would be a ton of dust after a while. Well, now think about the air in the duct system. Of course theres gonna be a ton of dust in there. For you to say that it is not benififcial to clean the ducts, is plain ignorant. 90% of the air we breathe is in our household. Wouldnt you want that air to be as dust and allergen free? I could go on for hours about the benifits of duct cleaning, but i just wanted to make a quick point that the person whose says it is not benificial to clean them, is not using common sense. Not to mention, giving the people who clean ducts for a living, a bad name. Use your head .
As you can see, if we know what the contractor is actually paying for specific equipment, we know what their labor rates are, and we know what they bid the project for, then we can also use some basic algebra (or just let the program do it for us because we’re lazy) to figure out how much of a profit they are making off of us (you) at different bid prices:
I guess I should present my credentials first, I am a 30 year veteran of the heating and cooling industry. I started at the bottom and have participated in every area of the trade. Installer, service, maint. Ownership, rep, territory manager and so on. A forced air duct system is a large vacume. Like your vacume it has an air intake (return air) and an exhaust (supply registers). A filter just like a vacume (located next to furnace or air handler). Now I want you to visualize something. Put your head inside your vacume cleaner and breath. Get the picture? This is what your duct work looks like. Do you clean your vacume when it’s dirty? If it’s full and the filter is dirty you lose performance and it starts poluting the air you breathe. It’s common sense. I recommend hiring a duct cleaning outfit that you have researched to be honest, background checked, drug tested, insured, and highly recommended by your piers in the area. The service is a necessity, but like everything, it should be done by a qualified company.
A little simple math can help determine the size system you need. A rule of thumb is 20 BTUs per square foot. So, a 500 square foot room would need 10,000 BTUs to cool or warm it efficiently. This assumes that you live in a temperate region and have adequate insulation with no energy loss. In the real world, all units have some degree of energy loss. This is reflected in an HVAC system's SEER rating for cooling and AFUE rating for heating.
Had duct cleaned (apartment) however, dust is still settling throughout the apartment. Contractor said no other cleaning necessary until two (2) years. Is there a time period before dust no longer settles prior to that time? Should the vendor had worn a mask? He did not cover his face the vents and dust was blown throughout the apartment (had family help with the cleanup). I had to leave when they left because I have asthma and I couldn’t breathe without coughing. Please help!

Mitsubishi Electric is a world leader in air conditioning systems for residential, commercial and industrial use. Challenged to create air conditioning systems that provide exemplary performance in the wide-ranging climatic conditions found throughout Japan, our engineers develop amazingly sophisticated yet durable units and systems capable of constant use under virtually any natural climatic condition on earth.

Preventing against air leakage is great, but the only way to keep dust and debris out of a duct system would be to completely seal off the return-air side of the system, which would render the system useless. Cold-air returns will always pull dust and other particles into the system. A high-MERV rated filter is definitely a good idea, but it does nothing to keep the return side of the system clean. Definitely agree though to use foil tape to seal seams, etc. Duct tape dries out over time and as it does can actually add more particles to the air.
Sounds like your first hvac company was ripping you off. Ask your new company to go to your coil and see if there is a leak. If there isn't the last company was just lining their pockets. If you have had ducts unhooked for a long time I would recommend duct cleaning, trust me I'm not a fan of duct cleaning myself. I have done hvac for 20 yrs. in GA. When I just bought a home built in 1996, we had all the ducts replaced immediately.
From furnace installation and heating system installation to air conditioning installation and central air installation, Lowe’s has all your HVAC installation needs covered. Lowe’s will coordinate with independent air conditioner installation professionals to make installing central air a breeze. So stop worrying about how to install an air conditioner and contact Lowe’s to help with your air conditioning install.
I’m having my duct work cleaned this Saturday. Have a coupon for $49 through Amazon. Job normally $249. Had my basement remodeled about 18 months ago. The contractors were very thorough at blocking the vents, as far as I can tell. The offer is for HVAC and dryer vent cleaning. My house is 11 years old. I figured, $49 is not much. I appreciate your tips on not getting talked into any additional service, not to use solvents to clean, the certification information and before and after pictures. Very useful and I’ll be sure that all I spend is the $49 for the voucher.
Here in Frisco, TX…just had a tech come out to clean vents. I used a 30 bucks groupon for “complete vent cleaning”. He told me I have 3 AC units and groupon covers only 1. I told him to do the unit upstairs where the kids sleep. He decided on his own to do the downstairs unit. I yelled at him why he is not doing the unit I told him to do! He said they are all connected. I will clean two for you for the price of one… Oh really?
I called a company name “GREEN RHVAC” with their $29.00 one system air duck cleaning. When the guy came with a truck I asked him to tell me how much he will charge and he said that if he gave me price and I didn’t want the service then he would charge me $89 or he would tell me how much he charge me after he finished the work. I immoderately sense that I made mistake to call him to my house. To cut my lost I asked him to give me the price and it was $1600 for two systems house. I paid $100 to him for my lesson to learn and search online to find this site is very helpfully and I should do it before to call anyone for air duck cleaning.
While a lot of people understand the consequences of AC problems throughout the summer, the summer comes with its own set of unique issues that require a call to the plumber, too. Whether it’s a malfunctioning sprinkler system or a sewer line backup, Service Experts can help. We’ve encountered it all, and you won’t have to worry about any of it with our 24/7/365 Emergency Plumbing Service. When you need a plumber, we are here for you. And, just like all of our other services and products, any plumbing repair or work completed by Service Experts is backed by the same 100% Satisfaction Guarantee*.
Quality and price should come hand in hand, a too-good-to-be-true price for an efficient air duct cleaning will not give you the quality that you wanted. To make sure you are getting your money’s worth, check reviews of air duct cleaning companies, certifications from industry since this work requires continuous learning due to new techniques and research breakthrough from time to time. My mom is located in Arizona and they trust J&M Restoration air duct cleaning company, they have an A+ BBB rating, they used EPA approved sanitizing agents, their technicians are NADCA certified, and the company is certified by the Institute of Inspection, cleaning and Restoration. Make sure to shop around and get written estimates first.
Yes everyone should get all their ductwork cleaned, because it does help, incame down with major allergies and had serval operations on my sinues because of this problem of air quality and dust, plus i almost died from one of the operations, i was suffering so much. Yes you can seal your duct system by buyind duct seal t instead of tape to tape all the corners of the vent system, tape wears out and gets brittle, the sealant you can buy at home depot, and you just brush it all over the connections of your ductwork, it comes in a container and it is like a thick paste and dries making a good seal for your ductwork.
Ground source, or geothermal, heat pumps are similar to ordinary heat pumps, but instead of transferring heat to or from outside air, they rely on the stable, even temperature of the earth to provide heating and air conditioning. Many regions experience seasonal temperature extremes, which would require large-capacity heating and cooling equipment to heat or cool buildings. For example, a conventional heat pump system used to heat a building in Montana's −70 °F (−57 °C) low temperature or cool a building in the highest temperature ever recorded in the US—134 °F (57 °C) in Death Valley, California, in 1913 would require a large amount of energy due to the extreme difference between inside and outside air temperatures. A few feet below the earth's surface, however, the ground remains at a relatively constant temperature. Utilizing this large source of relatively moderate temperature earth, a heating or cooling system's capacity can often be significantly reduced. Although ground temperatures vary according to latitude, at 6 feet (1.8 m) underground, temperatures generally only range from 45 to 75 °F (7 to 24 °C).
The most effective way to clean air ducts and ventilation systems is to employ Source Removal methods of cleaning. This requires a contractor to place the system under negative pressure, through the use of a specialized, powerful vacuum. While the vacuum draws air through the system, devices are inserted into the ducts to dislodge any debris that might be stuck to interior surfaces. The debris can then travel down the ducts to the vacuum, which removes it from the system and the home.
Furnace Circuit Board -- The furnace circuit board controls a variety of functions. It not only handles the regular operation of the furnace, it also monitors the furnace's various safety circuits. Over time, vibrations from the furnace can weaken solder point and cause them to separate. Dirt and debris can cause short-circuits that damage the board. Failure of the circuit board can cause a variety of effects ranging from the fan not turning on to the complete shutdown of the furnace.
Internal insulation provides better acoustical (noise) control. Flexible duct is very low cost. These products are engineered specifically for use in ducts or as ducts themselves, and are tested in accordance with standards established by Underwriters Laboratories (UL), the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Many insulated duct systems have operated for years without supporting significant mold growth. Keeping them reasonably clean and dry is generally adequate. However, there is substantial debate about whether porous insulation materials (e.g., fiber glass) are more prone to microbial contamination than bare sheet metal ducts. If enough dirt and moisture are permitted to enter the duct system, there may be no significant difference in the rate or extent of microbial growth in internally lined or bare sheet metal ducts. However, treatment of mold contamination on bare sheet metal is much easier. Cleaning and treatment with an EPA-registered biocide are possible. Once fiberglass duct liner is contaminated with mold, cleaning is not sufficient to prevent re-growth and there are no EPA-registered biocides for the treatment of porous duct materials. EPA, NADCA and NAIMA all recommend the replacement of wet or moldy fiber glass duct material.
One of the difficulties encountered by many air duct cleaning service companies is that their attention is not really on air duct cleaning. For example, many heating and cooling companies offer duct cleaning as a supplemental service, but of course their primary business is installing and servicing heating and cooling equipment. For these companies, air duct cleaning is not always given the attention it deserves and is often done by less experienced employees whose interest is not in duct cleaning but in repairs and installs. And it is almost always done with inferior air duct cleaning equipment. Still other firms (like carpet cleaners) offer a large variety of services and claim to “do everything.” Because of their lack of focus they may not actually be very good at many, if any, of the services they offer. They cannot simply buy an attachment for their carpet cleaning machine and magically become a great duct cleaner.
A BTU is the amount of energy required to heat or cool one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. So a 1-ton air conditioner can cool 12,000 pounds of water by one degree every hour. That’s all it means, so don’t let yourself be lost in jargon! How this affects your HVAC installation cost is that the larger your house is, the more tons will be required to heat and cool it.

In some older homes, there was a grey Mylar flexible duct. After years of use, it started to decompose. A duct cleaning company can come out and find why your air is so dirty and why your building doesn’t heat or cool like it used to. This is a savings on your part. You could also be sucking in Hot, dirty attic air. However, sometimes when a duct cleaning company comes out to clean it, the old duct can be destroyed and have to be replaced. Someone with little experience can replace this ductwork but if it isn’t done right it can ruin a lot of things and cost a lot in repairs.

This company deserves more than five stars. They didn't just replace my heater and air conditioner, they built me a new system for my house. Going above and beyond is a understatement. Steve's staff were 2 of the nicest workers I've come across in a long time. Friendly, knowledgeable, and very clean. Truly a top rated company. Thanks Steve. Great job.

Central home air conditioner service systems consist of two major components: a condensing unit that sits outside your house, and the evaporator coil (often referred to as an A-coil) that sits in the plenum of your furnace or air handler. The refrigerant in the A-coil picks up the heat from your home and moves it to the outdoor condensing unit. The condensing unit fan blows outside air through the condensing coil to remove the heat. The condensing unit houses the three parts replaceable by a DIYer: the AC contactor, the start/run capacitor(s) and the condenser fan motor. The condensing unit also houses the compressor, but only a pro can replace that. The A-coil has no parts that can be serviced by a DIYer.